On my quest to get OGUL recognition, I decided to tackle Freel Peak, the tallest peak in El Dorado County and in the Lake Tahoe Basin. I opted not to begin at Horse Meadow; I wasn’t sure that my car could handle the gnarly Forest Service roads. Instead, I began at Trout Creek, at the end of Oneidas St. and fully paved up to the trailhead.

Pyramid Peak via Rocky Canyon… oh boy. This one is a tough one with approximately 4,083′ of elevation gain. The boyfriend and I huffed and puffed our way up and down this one. The altitude, elevation change, and a wicked hangover (Just me. Whoops. Not a good idea to go peak bagging after a party bus team event.) were not my friends.

This hike was done mid-November with some snow on the trail, a little bit more snow on the peak, and freezing cold winds on the peak. This hike gives you a little bit of everything: little creek crossings, redwood forest, scrambling up talus. Unfortunately, can’t comment much on the view from the top. The day started off with a cloudless sky, but a giant cloud quickly descended upon us. It looks like it was gorgeous, what bit we could see, but with an 80% chance of snow, so we scrambled down pretty quickly.